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Could a car like the Chevy Cruze or Sonic saved GM in 09??


Nate1647545505

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I'll tell you what's NOT going to save GM: the 2013 Malibu

 

http://www.autoblog.com/2011/12/19/2013-chevrolet-malibu-eco-first-drive-review/

 

Loaded with tech, yet so full of fail. :(

 

Dude, it has an ECO gauge in the dash, what more do you want ?

They even pasted on some camaro tail-lights with silly putty.

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The only thing that would have saved GM would have been an effort on GM's managment to get things under control. You can't tell me that they didn't know long before what was coming, they got the same bailout bullshit a lot of big banks got. I'm sure there are many underlying causes of GM's failure that have absolutly nothing to do with cars, and the unions were most of it.
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Just curious how others think: If GM would have gotten its act together, produced eco minded, somewhat durable and refind car -- could GM have been saved?

 

 

Nate I love you, but you think a fucking new bodied cobalt/ cavalier wouldve saved gm??? give em 30k miles they'll b junk just like all other gm cheap cars...

 

ive said it a bunch but if gm wouldve offered a trailblazer with 5 interior options and 5 wheel options they wouldnt have needed to make:

isuzu ascender

gmc envoy

chevy trailblazer

buick rainier

olds bravada

saab 97x

 

i think that couldve saved them some money

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:lolguy:

 

san unions, just focusing on the product

The short answer is yes.

 

The long answer entails WHY.

 

What was missing at GM was a passion for its products. The enthusiasts weren't in a position of power, and the managers focused on the cost knew nothing about what content they shouldn't remove from a vehicle. Their vehicles had no passion (sans Corvette), they weren't fun to drive, and they weren't class leaders. There were too many paper pushers focused on a release date instead of being focused on making a world class product, even if it meant $2.50 more per car and a delayed release. Lutz recognised this and had the company on a path to turn it around, and the fruits of that are the products you mentioned, plus the new Malibu, Equinox, Volt, CTS, SRX, LaCrosse, etc. The economy crashed before this product could hit the market though.

 

So yes, the Cruze and Sonic could have saved GM's product line/sales/slipping market share, but not simply because of the product, but because the ideaology within the company has changed. The Pontiac brand needed to be realigned as an affordable, fun-to-drive brand, while Saturn needed to be GM's Scion; a brand that used previous generation platforms from their other brands which the bugs worked out. Those brands lost thier mission over the years and I could go much more in-depth on my thoughs of what they SHOULD have been, but that's another topic.

 

Clay, I think that AB review of the Malibu Eco was overly harsh. The guy wanted to hate it. He even went so far as to compare the price with destination to a Camry minus destination. Why not compare apples to apples? What I got out of the review is that it is quiet, rides nice, has nicely weighted steering, and gets great highway mileage. Looks are subjective. I've seen a few in person and they're not bad. AB didn't even bother washing the car for their 'beauty shots.' This was also the ECO model, which is tuned for efficiency. I'm looking forward to seeing the 2.0LT models and how they compare to the Regal.

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Nate I love you, but you think a fucking new bodied cobalt/ cavalier wouldve saved gm??? give em 30k miles they'll b junk just like all other gm cheap cars...

 

ive said it a bunch but if gm wouldve offered a trailblazer with 5 interior options and 5 wheel options they wouldnt have needed to make:

isuzu ascender

gmc envoy

chevy trailblazer

buick rainier

olds bravada

saab 97x

 

i think that couldve saved them some money

 

That was my biggest fear. I honostly havent looked under the hood or even got one on a lift (nor do I know anything about their chassis). I stopped into the local GM dealer here that had a few ECO trims. I thought it was going to be just another cobalt or cavalier -- maybe it is. I was suprised how refined it actually was, for what it is.

 

This is coming from someone who drives a more then 10 year old POS...:dumb:

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I'll tell you what's NOT going to save GM: the 2013 Malibu

 

http://www.autoblog.com/2011/12/19/2013-chevrolet-malibu-eco-first-drive-review/

 

Loaded with tech, yet so full of fail. :(

 

I drove a 2011 for a week and I HATED it. It was the biggest pile I have driven in a long time.

 

And to the Nate's Question : Possibly since much the same game plan helped save Dodge in the 80's (K-car/Shadow/Spirit/Minivan/etc)

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Great summer car for short commutes under 40 miles, alright on room for two people over 6". However in cold weather its terrible, battery does not last long at all, heat sucks and snow driving will be most likely impossible.

 

Wow, I figured they would have taken cold weather into account with a battery warmer. I thought GM had done better with it.

 

Might want to consider soft snow tires. I'm sure those ultra-hard eco tires aren't going to like the winter at all.

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Cruze is actually pretty successful in the WTCC overseas.....

 

http://gmauthority.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Chevy-Cruze-WTCC-3.jpg

 

If by successful you mean they dominated that shit. Chevy is the only works team in the series, so take that how you want.

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Nate I love you, but you think a fucking new bodied cobalt/ cavalier wouldve saved gm??? give em 30k miles they'll b junk just like all other gm cheap cars...

 

ive said it a bunch but if gm wouldve offered a trailblazer with 5 interior options and 5 wheel options they wouldnt have needed to make:

isuzu ascender

gmc envoy

chevy trailblazer

buick rainier

olds bravada

saab 97x

 

i think that couldve saved them some money

 

I have to agree with this, and look at what they are selling to a similar group of people, the Traverse, Acadia, Enclave, Outlook peice of shit. The engines suck, the transmissions have been going bad starting at 40-50k miles, the power steering systems are absolute junk. Multiple recalls and bullitens for the all of the above. Its not like they are easy to much on either, the Trailblazers are easier to fix, most engine issues have to have it removed, and the steering components aren't easily accessable either. These will have horrible resale IMHO because they won't be cheap to fix. I've driven a few over 100k and its a Trailblazer all over again, with more and different issues.

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